Christopher Partridge

CHRISTOPHER PARTRIDGE (PhD, BD, DipRS) is Professor of Theology and Contemporary Religion at University College, Chester, England. His research and writing focus on new religions and alternative spiritualities in the West. He has published research in the areas of contemporary Christian theology and Western alternative spiritualities. He is the editor of Fundamentalisms (2001), Mysticisms East and West: Studies in Mystical Experience (with Theodore Gabriel, 2002) and UFO Religions (2003).

Christopher's first book for Lion, the Encyclopedia of New Religions: New Religious Movements, Sects and Alternative Spiritualities published at the beginning of 2004 and has already proved to be a great success. Christopher has also substantially revised and updated a long established, bestselling and highly regarded book on the Lion list. The New Lion Handbook: The World's Religions features over 40% new material covering all the recent developments in the World's religions, with articles from 80 expert international contributors.

Read an article written by Christopher which appeared in Publishing News on 19th November 2004 about The New Lion Handbook: The World's Religions

Praise for the Encyclopedia of New Religions

'It makes for a fascinating and user-friendly guide, which is both browsable and informative.'
Church Times

'The short essays give the reader an excellent introduction to the new religious movements that have branched out of every major religion... and some entirely new ones... The scope is vast and the wealth of information contained here coupled with the as always excellent colour photos and production quality make this book a must for anyone interested in new religions. Frankly, every church should have a copy of this if they want to understand what many people believe today.'
Christian Marketplace

'Partridge eschews the word 'cult' because he wants no pejorative overtones to cloud a 'judgement-free' book... His panel of contributing academics maintains an admirably impartial tone... This book satisfies magpie curiosity, and arrests the browser with vivid sagas.'
Financial Times

'This book deserves to be in every school and every church; it is an invaluable one-stop guide to the huge and colourful diversity of new religions.'
The Catholic Times

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More information about Christopher Partridge from University College, Chester